I've been out in New Mexico for the past month and a half doing geology, and in the middle of my trip I saw this car appear on cars.com (via smartphone app). Home is in Tallahassee FL, and this car was in Charlotte NC. I did a bit of background research, and found that the car has a clean title, was single-owner, 159k miles, 5MT w/A/C, and had dealer maintenance records stretching from purchase in 2000 up until around 6 months ago. Hybrid battery was replaced under warranty in 2012, along with all of the computers. Unlike FL, NC has emissions testing and this car hadn't failed, so I felt fairly confident about it. I contacted the seller, an owner of a small car lot in Charlotte, and asked him for a history.

After some haggling, I ended up writing him a check for $3900 which is what KBB said the car was worth, considering single owner and records. That covered everything except registration in Florida.

The wife and I left Tuesday afternoon with our dog to pick the car up (Toothless averaged 35MPG on the highway doing 70, with the A/C running), and stopped in SC to spend the night at a free campground. We grilled bean burgers and hit the sack early.

My wife wanted to drive Toothless on the way home, so I took our dog with me in the Insight. I made her a bed in the hatch, and she snoozed very comfortably for the ~8 hours it took to get back.

The battery was low when we left the dealer, and after driving for around 30 minutes, it hit ~80%, and then the meter jumped to full. My interpretation is that the battery has about 80% of its factory capacity (?), and I can probably get a bit more of that back with a grid charge. It seems to be good for at least 3-5 minutes of full assist before depleting.

I averaged 60MPG in-town, driving in traffic, without much mind to driving with economy. On the highway, doing 70-75 with the A/C on, I was getting ~50MPG. At the first stop, about an hour in, I checked tire pressure to find all 4 tires (Michelin Energy Savers, not the more efficient stock Bridgestone Potenzas) were at 25PSI. Bringing that up to ~45, hot, allowed me 55-60MPG at 70MPH with the A/C on, ~75MPG (lean burn?) with the A/C off, and at 50-60MPH, 85-95MPG.

For those of you who are not familiar with the first-gen Insights, here are a few specs and interesting facts:

The engine is a 3 cylinder 995cc lean-burn engine with VTEC (2750RPM? cam switch). Redline is 6000, with 67HP/68ft-lbs, with an electrical assist of 13HP/36ft-lbs. The engine is oversquare, and the crankshaft is offset from the pistons to give better leverage. To create a smooth idle, the electric motor buffers the engine. It's pretty gutless below 2500RPM but pulls surprisingly well once in the more aggressive cam profile. 5th gear in my Del Sol is slightly shorter than 3rd gear in the Insight, and highway cruising happens at 2000-2300RPM in 5th.

The engine is started quietly with the IMA motor, but has a backup 12v starter. It has auto-stop at redlights. There is no alternator.

The total weight of the car is ~1850lbs with an empty tank and a full battery. The frame is all aluminum, and is estimated to weigh only ~350lbs, while having something like 40% more rigidity than a comparable Civic/CRX steel frame. I believe a CRX frame weighs around 600lbs, for comparison. The attention to detail with weight-saving is really quite astounding, with such things as aluminum brakes, a carbon fiber dipstick, magnesium alloy oil pan, a plastic fuel tank, light-weight seats, etc.

The Insight shares quite a few parts with the S2000, including the steering wheel and the electric power steering system. It rolled off of the assembly line used for the (also aluminum) NSX.

The rear wheels are closer together than the fronts, allowing the body to taper toward the back.

Now that I have it home, I'm going to start tackling a few of its needs:

1. It appears the previous owner may have kissed a curb with the front bumper. There's no frame damage, but the belly pan in the front is not sitting flush with the underside of the car (hangs a bit low), and the passenger tire air deflector is missing. Additionally, the pan section in the middle of the car, passenger side, is currently held on with zip ties and also hangs a bit low. My guess is that, in its current state, I would probably be better off without the passenger-middle pan until it's fixed.

2. At least one of the ground straps doesn't appear to be in good shape. On a hybrid, I assume these are pretty important.

3. I intend to check the VTEC filter in the head, as well as clean the EGR passages. Supposedly clean passages = smoother running and more time spent in lean-burn.

4. Clean the headlights.

5. Replace the cabin air filter.

6. Install a Fumoto oil drain plug. The magnesium alloy oil pan is supposedly very easy to strip even when only hand-tight, and the service manual calls for a rather silly 36ft-lbs of torque on the bolt.

7. Test 12v battery health.

8. Build a grid charger.

9. Eventually, I'll be replacing the Michelin ES tires with factory RE92's, but not before it's time. Potenzas are supposed to be worth 5-10MPG over Michelins.

10. Install amp, new head unit, replace front speakers, install rear speakers and possibly a very small subwoofer.

11. Misc. body work. There's a small crack in the rear bumper, and a "finger dent" in the driver door I can probably push out. There are also a few spots that could use some touchup paint. Some of the plastic trim isn't sitting perfectly, and I'll need to figure out why.

12. The factory lock-remote seems to work, but the power locks in the car don't. I hear the actuator click, but it doesn't lock the doors.

I will update as I go!

EDIT: Here is a folder containing all of my Insight-related resources:

It's surprisingly roomy! I suspect someone 7ft tall could comfortably sit inside with the seats all the way back. This car has ~10% more frontal area than my Del Sol, and it's narrower, so there's quite a bit more headroom. This is also my first car with real cupholders, so I'm in heaven.

It's surprisingly roomy! I suspect someone 7ft tall could comfortably sit inside with the seats all the way back. This car has ~10% more frontal area than my Del Sol, and it's narrower, so there's quite a bit more headroom. This is also my first car with real cupholders, so I'm in heaven.

I parked next to a Del Sol yesterday and i can attest to that! I very much wish it was a tiny clown car like a Miata or an MG Midget. I've slept in the hatch on long distance trips and it's very comfy.

DOGS: I've picked up many dogs roaming the streets in dangerous places and they all lay in the hatch like second nature. But i would not recommend it. Any square laundry basket turned upside down will fit in the foot well with the seat all the way back. My dog lies comfortably in the passenger seat that way.

There's something funky up with the power locks. When I hit lock/unlock on the 3 button remote, I hear a click (sounds like the actuator is moving) in the hatch and both doors, but it doesn't actually lock or unlock the car. Likewise, hitting the power locks switch in the door panel makes a click that I can hear both in the door panels, and in the hatch, but the doors remain locked. The hatch button doesn't open the hatch, I have to use the key.